<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Queen of Hearts by pandorasprongs</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29166573">Queen of Hearts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandorasprongs/pseuds/pandorasprongs'>pandorasprongs</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Childhood Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendzone, Heartbreak, Lily Evans is not a Bitch, Miscommunication, Past Relationship(s), Unrequited Crush, but not really</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:20:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,645</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29166573</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandorasprongs/pseuds/pandorasprongs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Thalia Mendoza stopped caring about James Potter a long time ago. But when he comes back into her life with a bag of galleons in hand asking for help with a certain redhead, how could she refuse?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James Potter/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first story and English isn't my first language, so forgive me if it isn't the best :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Whether it comes to someone's personality, life or relationships, a lot can change in two years. For Thalia Mendoza however, all three happened to apply to her. She was reminded of this the moment the front door to the Potters' swung open.</p><p>"Oh Thalia, thank Merlin you're here." Euphemia greeted as she enveloped the young girl in a tight hug. "I was beginning to worry you wouldn't show up, but I knew you were better than that, especially when it comes to James."</p><p>Especially when it comes to James. Guess someone hasn't told their mother what happened between them. Then again, she hadn't told her parents either.</p><p>"Of course, Mrs. Potter. What are friends for?" Might as well play into it, right? There's no backing out now.</p><p>"Thalia, how many times must I tell you to call me Euphemia? Now come inside, dear. It's boiling out there." The older woman gestured for Thalia to enter the living room as she closed the door behind her.</p><p>"I'll be going to the kitchen, dear. My timer for the brownies went off right before you knocked. Just yell for me if you need anything." Euphemia said, patting Thalia on the back and giving her a weak smile which she returned before heading to the next room.</p><p>The last time Thalia had been here, she was 11 years old before James met his new friends. Unlike the Gryffindor, not much had changed in the past few years. The couch still looked as cozy as ever with its perfectly propped up pillows with no wrinkle in sight. The walls still bore the hundreds of photos of James with some new ones as well. Before Thalia could observe the room any longer, the sound of footsteps caught her attention and by the sound of forced swagger and combat boots (Merlin, who let him wear that in here), it was quite obvious who it was.</p><p>"Hello there, Mendoza." Sirius greeted, his signature smirk plastered on his face.</p><p>"Afternoon, Black. You look as, dashing as always." She returned, scanning his outfit as subtly as possible. </p><p>It looked like a much more extreme version of what he would wear on weekends at Hogwarts which is probably because he didn't have McGonagall patrolling his every move here. The leather jacket, t-shirt of a rock band that even Thalia who was raised by a muggle father was unaware of, ripped black jeans and combat boots were all part of Sirius Black's signature style.</p><p>Turned out she wasn't as subtle as she thought as Sirius commented, "Like what you see, Mendoza?"</p><p>Thalia would have flushed red had she not gotten better at hiding it. Instead, she rolled her eyes at the Gryffindor before dropping her bag on what she suspected was a newly pressed couch and walking nearer to Sirius.</p><p>"He's in his room, right?" She asked him without waiting for a response, before rubbing her hands together as if she was about to start a quidditch match.</p><p>Her plan was simple. She would head to James' room and knock on the door. From what Euphemia said in her letter, he'd yell at whoever was at the door to piss off which was what she was counting on. After he'd done that, she'd wait a few minutes then head back downstairs, grab some of Mrs. Potter's delicious brownies for a snack, and head home. </p><p>By her calculations, her whole plan would take less than 10 minutes. If Sirius Black would just move out of the bloody way.</p><p>As she moved to walk up the stairs, the long-haired boy also moved to block her way. At first, Thalia believed this was just some game Sirius would play once before letting her through but after it went on for a short minute, Thalia let out an exasperated sigh.</p><p>"Move out of the way, Black. I just want to get this over with." </p><p>"Why'd Euphemia ask you to come here?" He inquired with his hand resting on the railing, blocking Thalia.</p><p>"Guess she still thinks James and I are still close friends. Now move." Thalia grabbed Sirius' arm before trying to push it out of the way. But, despite her doing Quidditch training with Elaina for 3 years and Sirius not having played an official game a day in his life, the Gryffindor still wouldn't budge. Maybe she should have taken the Beater or Chaser position they offered, to get her arms into shape, you know? </p><p>But she continued to attempt to push his arm off the railing in hopes that he would loosen his grip and let her leave.</p><p>"Then why'd you agree to come here, then?" "Have you tried saying no to the literal angel that is Mrs. Potter?" "Touché."</p><p>"But why are trying so hard to get to his room? Are you still in love with him or something?"</p><p>Thalia knew that the last part was to get her angry or annoyed and usually, it wouldn't work since it has been over two years since then. But when it came out of that smug bastard's mouth, it just triggered something inside of her.</p><p>She pushed hard on Sirius' arm one more time as strong as she could which caused him to stumble before she said, "Merlin, I am not in love with James Potter anymore, Black! You know that. You should also know that Euphemia won't let me leave until I at least try to get him out of stupid bed, so if you want me out of here Black, you let me through."</p><p>After a second of absorbing what she had just said, Sirius finally removed his arm and let her pass. bowing mockingly. Thalia walked right ahead without even acknowledging Sirius again. Merlin, she hated how much he could affect her like that. She hated how their friend group did! There's something about their smug little faces knowing they could get away with anything and get punished with nothing more than detention. Honestly, if it was any other group of students at Hogwarts, they would have been expelled by now.</p><p>Thalia was steaming by the time she made it to James' room. The path to it felt like muscle memory and so while her mind was clouded with her annoyance at the self-titled Marauders, her body seemed to be doing just fine walking around this home. </p><p>She was now facing the door leading to the Gryffindor's room, his nameplate shining from the light peeking through the curtains of the window above the bronze door knocker. From there, she could already smell the horrid amounts of alcohol Sirius must have snuck James these past weeks behind Euphemia's back.</p><p>Thalia took a deep breath before raising her hand to enclose the knocker. She let out two wraps of knocking before waiting patiently for any response from the inside.</p><p>"Mother, I'm sorry but this is not the time to bother me. It's not even dinner time, yet!"</p><p>She rolled her eyes at his response, before shouting back, "It's not your mother, Potter!" </p><p>Thalia heard a crack of a mattress as if to mirror someone's interest peaking. Could he really no longer recognize her voice or did he just not expect it to be that one? She took a deep breath once again before saying, "It's me, Thalia Mendoza."</p><p>"Tilly?"</p><p>—</p><p>"Hold on tight, sweetheart. It's a busy road, okay?"</p><p>The young girl nodded her head enthusiastically at her mother who lightly chuckled but looked worrisome. This was the farthest she had ever traveled from home which was only because their next-door neighbor had gone out of town and was unable to watch over her.</p><p>The mother squeezed the girl's hand which she imitated onto her small elephant stuffed toy that she got two years ago. The pair walked straight into the sidewalk traffic and the 6-year-old could barely see through the crowd. All she knew was the soft hand she was holding on her left and the fluffy stuffed toy on right. Hold on, where had it gone?</p><p>With her hand still tightly clasped around her mother's, she frantically looked back to see where it had gone. When she finally spotted it, it was close to being trampled. She ran towards it and grabbed it right before it was stepped on by the passing strangers. She hugged it tightly before looking back on the street. Now, where had her mother gone?</p><p> "Mom!" She went on her tippy toes, moving around trying to look for the raven-haired woman. 

"Mommy!" Her eyes started to feel watery, and even if she tried to hold it together, she started balling out crying. No one in the crowd seemed to notice, because they were all so busy trying to get where they needed to be. The young girl fell to the floor leaning on a newspaper vending machine. </p><p>After what felt like an eternity, the crowd of people had died down and she felt a tap on her shoulder. Her hopes rose thinking that it was her mother who had found her, but instead saw a boy, not much older than her, looking down at her concerned.</p><p>"Are you alright, friend?" He asked, bending down to meet her eye-line. He could only be at most a year older than her but you wouldn't be able to tell by the way he was dressed or how he carried himself.</p><p>The young girl couldn't find it in herself to respond verbally, so she instead shook her head.</p><p>"Did you lose your parents?" She nodded.</p><p>"Oh," The dark-haired boy looked down, unsure what to do. How could he? He was the same age as her. But it seemed he was much more mature than kids his age since he sprung up immediately with a new idea.</p><p>"Grab my hand. I'll bring you to my parents instead. My mother could keep us company while my father will look for your parents." He offered it with a wide grin plastered on his face, most likely proud of himself that he was able to come up with a plan.</p><p>She reluctantly took his hand and the two children immediately set off.</p><p>"My name's James by the way. What's yours?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Tilly?"</p><p>It had been a while since she had heard that name, and even after all these years she still resented it. Thalia would have told him off about calling her that again, but it didn't matter. It was just a few more minutes before she could leave. </p><p>"Yes, Potter. It's me. Your mother sent me to try and get you out of your room but obviously, since you won't open the door for even Sirius, I might as well go. Take care, Potter. Hope you feel better soon!" With that last exclamation, Thalia turned to start walking down the hall again.</p><p>As she was doing so, she heard a number of footsteps heading her way. She thought she was imagining it, but before she knew it, James Potter had opened his door and grabbed a hold of her.</p><p>"Are you really just going to leave like that?" James asked in a manner that almost made Thalia believe he was actually hurt.</p><p>"Yes." James let out a sound of disbelief. </p><p>She didn't understand why he was acting like this. They hadn't been friends for a while, and if he hasn't forgotten, their whole fallout was his fault. They'd spent two years ignoring each others, so why is he acting like they were the best of friends?</p><p>"So you just came here for nothing? No attempt to comfort me, to help me feel better, no nothing?!" He exclaimed, his voice and the color in his face rising. </p><p>Thalia wasn't going to let him talk to her like that. "What do you want me to do?! Your mom asked me to come here since you obviously didn't tell her what happened and so I came. I didn't want to say no to her, alright?" She explained, matching his mannerisms, even if he was almost a foot taller.</p><p>And why are you acting like someone died, Potter?! You got rejected. It's not the end of the world."</p><p>"Oh yeah, you'd know all about rejection, wouldn't you, Mendoza?" James was no longer using his nickname for her, which gave Thalia both a sense of relief and worry. Not only that, but his statement caused her to stumble. </p><p>He quickly realized what he had said and moved to apologize, but Thalia quickly bounced back. </p><p>She took a deep breath before she started, "Look, Potter. I don't know why you're so affected by this. Maybe it's your bloody ego or your attention-seeking attitude wanting to act like this, but you need to get over it. Just because Lily rejected you doesn't mean you've lost your only chance at love. There is another person out there for you and you have the rest of your life to find them. But right now, you're making your parents and everyone around you miserable by locking yourself up here. So for the first time in your life, could you please think about other people aside from yourself and eat some bloody lunch!"</p><p>By the end of her statement, she had turned bright red by the intensity of her tone. James' mouth was open wide. Before he could recover again and respond to her, Thalia had taken advantage of his loose hold on her arm and turned to leave. She rushed down the stairs and quickly grabbed her satchel. She slung it on her shoulders before walking out the door. </p><p>She stood there for a minute to calm down. She may have not realized it, but a part of her wanted to help James. No matter how many times she would use the excuse of Euphemia, she could admit to herself that in reality, she still she wanted to go help him, even after what he did to her. It was no use to think about it now. She took another deep breath, before moving to start walking down the street.</p><p>—</p><p>"Hi, sweetheart. How was it?" Thalia's dad greeted, his head peeking from the living room.</p><p>After Thalia locked their front door, she headed to where her father was and took a seat next to her. In front of them was two cans of orange soda, one still unopened. </p><p>It's like dad knew that it would go wrong, but she still wouldn't admit it to him. It was as if even Thalia hadn't told him what really happened between them, he still knew. The same went for her mom. For the past few years, Thalia would always look tense whenever even the name James Potter was mentioned around her, no matter how hard she tried to remain neutral about it. If there was someone Thalia had a hard time lying to, it was her parents.</p><p>"It went fine. Don't think I got through to him though," Thalia lied, grabbing the can, opening it and taking a sip from it. She has a hard time lying to her parents, but that doesn't mean she couldn't.</p><p>"It's alright, kiddo. You can go back tomorrow if you want." Her father suggested, still keeping his eyes on the telly in front of him.</p><p>"It's fine. I'm sure his other friends could help him," She shook her head and paused before turning to her dad to change the subject, "Where's mum?" </p><p>"At the bakery downstairs. Why?"</p><p>"I couldn't get the brownie recipe from Mrs. Potter, so I'll just help her make the regular one. You done?" Thalia pointed at her cans, holding her already finished one in her right hand.</p><p>"Yeah, mind throwing it?" Thalia nodded her head and placed the two canisters in front of her before reaching for her wand. </p><p>She quickly put it away and getting up to throw it normally. She spends most of the year at Hogwarts using magic, and since she was returning in a few days, she might as well keep her wand away for the rest of the holiday break.</p><p>After finishing up with that, Thalia left their house to walk to the bakery. Her parents opened it as soon as they got married. It was always her father's dream to open one, but since they weren't sure if it was going to work, he went on to be a teacher. Her mother instead learned all the recipes and ran the bakery. The whole family would help during their spare time, including Claudia, before she left. It was right next to it so it wasn't a far walk. She walked into the small store, the mini bell signaling her arrival.</p><p>"Thalia, is that you?" Her mum called out, most likely busy making more pastries. </p><p>There was a small break that occurred after lunch and before the afternoon where her mother would spend to restock on their pastries. Thalia always wondered why she didn't just use her magic to make their products, especially since she was the witch between her parents. But whenever the young girl would ask her, she would just reply with something about blending in with the muggles.</p><p>"Yes, mum! Do you need help back there?" She answered back, looking behind the counter to see if she was crouching there.</p><p>When she wasn't, the young girl moved to check the kitchen before she was stopped by her mum. "It's fine, sweetie! I'm just cleaning up in here. Can you just set up the pastries over there for later? We'll be opening again soon!"</p><p>Thalia shrugged, before looking for any rogue aprons. She found one set on the tables near the back of the store, before brushing off excess crumbs off it. She tied her hair into a neat ponytail before grabbing the tray of goods and placing them in their respective display areas. After she was done with that, she looked at the clock to check for the time. </p><p>She realized that they had to open already and notified her mother. "Mum! I'll open up the store, okay?" </p><p>Without waiting for a response, she went towards the door and flipped their sign to show the word, OPEN to the outside. After that, she sat in the chair behind the register and opened up the book she left the last time she had her shift.</p><p>Even if it had been only at most an hour since her encounter with James, she had already forgotten about it. She learned that even if those boys would find a way to get under her skin for a period of time, she would make sure that it wouldn't also affect her entire day.</p><p>After shoving one of the chocolate chip cookies into her mouth, Thalia continued to browse the pages of her book, but wasn't able to get very far as the bell of the door rang. She shot up, placed her book under the counter and turned to face the wall behind her before she stuffed the rest of the treat into her mouth before greeting the customer who now stood right behind the counter.</p><p>"Good afternoon! I'm Thalia, how may I–" The young girl paused as she gulped down the last of the pastry. Stood in front of her was Euphemia Potter, who looked quite joyful.</p><p>"Mrs. Pott– I mean, Euphemia! What are you doing here?" Thalia asked, becoming at ease. </p><p>"Oh, I just wanted to thank you. I heard you leave a while ago but as soon as you walked out the door, here comes James walking down the stairs to ask for some breakfast." Euphemia exclaimed, looking happier than ever that her only son had finally gotten into his senses.</p><p>The elderly lady walked to where Thalia was standing and embraced her. The younger girl reluctantly returned the hug. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable with this. It was because she couldn't believe all her screaming got through to James. Were his parents and friends too kind to him that all he needed was a stern talking to?</p><p>"I don't know what you said to James, but it worked," Euphemia started, moving back from the hug but still holding Thalia by her hands. "Maybe the next time Fleamont starte acting up, I'll call you instead."</p><p>The pair of women chuckled, but was interrupted by crash of pans. Thalia rushed to the backroom and immediately started helping her mother clean up the place. Euphemia, who followed soon after, looked at the pair of witches in awe.</p><p>"Mum, you can go back to baking, I'll fix this up." Thalia advised, as her mother gave her a quick side hug before following what she had said.</p><p>After picking up and stacking the last of the pans, Thalia notices that Euphemia was stood there the whole time. "Mum, it's Mrs. Potter! She, uh, came to visit since I somehow managed to help James."</p><p>Her mother shoved the last of the unbaked cookies into the oven before moving to acknowledge Mrs. Potter. "Euphemia! I'm so glad Thalia was able to help."</p><p>"Yes, of course. I've actually come her to give you something in return. Is there anything you two need help with? Euphemia asked, looking intent to repay the Mendoza's.</p><p>Just then, Thalia remember that she still had not gotten the brownie recipe from Mrs. Potter. She glanced at her mother, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.</p><p>"What about your brownie recipe?" The two Mendoza women spoke simultaneously. </p><p>It seemed as though Euphemia was expecting this as she pulled out a piece of parchment from her bag along with a quill and wrote it down. She rolled it up before handing it to Thalia's mother.</p><p>"Alright, now that we have gotten that settled. I hope to see you at King's Cross in a few weeks. Goodbye now." Euphemia spoke, before giving the two women a quick goodbye hug and leaving the store.</p><p>Guess Thalia managed to get that recipe after all.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>